Cotton conveying and cleaning apparatus



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. E. ELAM, R. S. THOMAS & S. W. HARDWIGK. COTTON CONVEYING AND CLEANING APPARATUS.

No. 451,856. Patented May 5,1891...

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(N0 Mor ie'l.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. E. ELAM, R. S. THOMAS & S. W. HARDWIOK. COTTON CONVEYING AND CLEANING APPARATUS.

No. 451,856. PatentedMay 5,1891.

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(No Model.) 3Sheets-Sheet a.

W. E. ELAM, R. S. THOMAS -& S; W. HARDWIGK. COTTON CONVEYING AND GLEANING APPARATUS.

No. 451,856. Patented May 5, 1891.

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STATES ATENT FFICEY.

IVILLIAM E. ELAM, ROBERT S. THOMAS, AND SAUNIE IV. IlARDlVIOK, OF

- DALLAS, TEXAS.

COTTON CONVEYING AND CL'EANING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 451,856, dated May 5, 1891.

Application filed January 6, 1891. Serial No. 376,846. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, IVILLIAM E. ELAM, ROBERT S. THOMAS, and SAUNIE W. HARD- WIOK, citizens of the United States, residing at Dallas, in the county of Dallas and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton Conveying and Cleaning Apparatus; and we do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art t0 which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to provide means for taking seed-cotton from any source of supply and for feeding it evenly to one or more gins automatically and in such manner that neither any gin nor any other part of the apparatus can become clogged, however rapidly or irregularly cotton is taken from the supply. The feeder now generally employed to prevent clogging of the gin itself transfers the difficulty one step back, where it is only less serious than before, and if devices be employed to obviate clogging in the feeder the trouble is moved still farther back and the congestion occurs in the apparatus bringing cotton to the feeder. If such apparatus involves pneumatic tubes the case is most serious, for when the accumulation is sufficient to arrest the current, notwithstanding its momentum, no attainable blast will put the mass again in motion. For these reasons most of the mechanisms heretofore employed require skill and judgment in feeding the supply apparatus at the wagon or storeroom. vices for preventing undue accumulation in any part of the apparatus and at the same time permitting the continuous movement of the cotton in all the parts. \Ve also provide means for cutting out any gin entirely without interfering with the working of any other part, it being sometimes desired to stop a gin \Vith our devices no gin has its supply increased by taking cotton rapidly from the source of supp1y,nor

can any feeder ever be filled to a harmful extent. No obstruction whatever is placed in \Ve do away with all difiiculty by dethe devices bringing cotton to the feeders to diminish under any circumstances their capacity to convey all that can enter atthe point of supply.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front eleva tion of two gins provided with our devices,

parts being broken away. Fig. 2 shows the apparatus seen from the rightin Fig. 1, parts being broken away and. the fronts of the feeders and of a separator-box resting thereon being removed. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the same apparatus, parts being broken away and the rear wall of a certain conveyer being removed. Fig. 4 is a view like Fig. 2, but with a slight modification, used for a single gin or the last gin in a series. Fig. 5 is a side view of a certain plate operated by the pressure of cotton accumulating in the feeder or in certain cases by an attendant. Figs. 6 and 7 show another slight modification in construction.

In the figures wherever the letters appear, A A are gins, B B feeders thereon, and Ois a pneumatic tube in which an air-current is produced by suitable means, as by a suctionfan at X. The tube C has a branch 0', through which surplus cotton, if there be any after all the gins are supplied, may be returned to the main tube and again offered to the gins at any convenient time. Above the gins cotton is removed out of the tube 0 by devices at. D. (Not claimed in this application.) Each feeder has the usual conveyerbelt B, traveling in the direction of the arrow, and a toothed roller 13', which permits only a certain amount of cotton to pass beneath it to the gin, the excess being constantly pushed rearward by the teeth.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, which illustrate acombinat-ion of two gins, the feeders differ'from all with which we are acquainted in that they are rearwardl y open, so that the cotton pushed rearward in each by the toothed roller may escape freely. In thus combining them we place upon the rear ends of the feeders a separator-box E in position to receive through its open top cotton dropped from the tube C by the devices at D. As the cotton enters the box it falls upon the edge of a wedge E, whose inclined faces each normally deflect half the cotton to the respective feeders. A

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plate F is hinged to the edge of the wedge in such manner that it may lie upon either inclined face or may be swung upward into the plane of either, cutting off from the other its supply of cotton and throwingthe whole into one feeder. The plate is held in any desired position by friction in its hearings or other common expedients. The gin thus out out may then be stopped for repairs or other purposes, while the rest of the apparatus continues in operation.

In the rear of the feeders is an endless eonveyer-belt G, running in a suitable trough or box G, contiguous to the feeders and transverse with reference to the conveyer-belts therein. The belt G is provided with the usual cleats, and its trough or box is cut away, so as to communicate with each feeder or with the upper and greater portion thereof. It follows from this construction that cotton delivered to the feeder in excess of the amount that can be fed to the gin is pushed back out of the feeder by the toothed roller and falls into the trough or box, where the belt G receives itand deposits it near the mouth of the branch 0 of the pneumatic tube, which at some convenient time, when the main supply is cut off ordiminished, returns it to the feeders.

The various parts of the apparatus may be driven in any suitable manner; but, as illustrated, the transverse conveyer-belt is actuated by a belt from the devices at D. It is evident that other gins may he added to the system.

The principal advantages may be secured for one gin alone or for one gin added to a series of two or more if the gin in question be provided with the modified construction shown in Figs. 4c and 5. In such case the trough in the rear of the feeders is open at the top, and a plate II is hinged to the devices at D and extends downward to the top of the feeder, forming a vertical wall at one side of the path of the falling cotton. At each end of the plate lips H. extend into the feeder, and through these accumulating cotton, pushed back by the toothed-roller, swings the whole plate rearward before any undue press-- ure arises, and thus all or a part of the falling cotton passes directly to the transverse conveyer. As the accumulation in the feeder diminishes the plate gradually returns to its normal position, and thus the amount of cotton entering the feeder is automatically regulated better than it could well be by personal I supervision. It may at times be desirable to stop the supply of cotton to this feeder and gin without interfering with the other parts,

and for this purpose we pivot to the lower edge of the plate a bar II, lying above the feeder, and provided with a notch II" to engage a catch H, fixed upon the feeder, when the plate has been swung to the position indicated in dotted lines.

By the modified arrangement of Figs. 6 and 7 we avoid, when desired, the necessity for extending the rear conveyer to the last feeder, which, therefore, is not open in the rear. In this case the last two feeders are provided with a separator analogous to that of Fig. 1; but the plate 2, corresponding to the plate F, swings upon a rook-shaft 3, mounted upon the apparatus above. The last feeder is provided with a plate or plates 4, mounted upon a rock-shaft 5 at right angles to the one above. The shafts 3 5 have respectively rigid arms 6 7, and these are connected by a rod 8. Now when the plate 4 is swung rearward, in the manner already described, the plate 2 obvi ously swings toward the separator and ultimately coinciding with the slope leading to the other feeder cuts off the flow to the'last gin and throws the whole into the preceding feeder, whence the surplus, if any, passes to the rear conveyer as before.

\Vhat we claim is 1. A gin-feeder rearwardly open to permit the escape of surplus cotton.

2. A ginfeeder rearwardly open and provided with means for forcing accumulated cotton rearwardly in the feeder.

3. The combination, with a rearwardly-open gin-feeder, of a conveyor located in the rear of the feeder in position to receive cotton discharged therefrom.

4. The combination, with a gin-feeder and mechanism supplying cotton thereto, of a conveyer in the rear of the feeder, and means whereby the pressure of cotton in the feeder may deflect the approaching supply to said conveyer.

5. The combination, with a rearwardly-open feeder and a conveyer in position to receive cotton discharge at the rear of the feeder, of a conveyer bringing cotton to the feeder and provided with a branch in position to take up the cotton delivered by the conveyer first mentioned.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

V. E. ELAM. R. S. THOMAS. S. V. IIARDIVICK.

Witnesses:

F. O. HERNICHEL, II. L. 131mm. 

